The Ghost Attacks
by Del Rion
Summary: Someone is attacking Tony Stark's enemies and while all clues point to Iron Man's involvement, Tony swears he has nothing to do with it – or his suits, or his AI. While S.H.I.E.L.D. investigates his activities the attacks continue and Tony's forced to face the fact that either he is involved or someone's stolen his tech and is using it to frame him. ("Genius, AI & Bots" series.)


**Story Info**

**Title:** The Ghost Attacks

**Author:** Del Rion

**Fandom:** Iron Man & The Avengers (MCU)

**Timeline:** post-IM3 (takes place after "The Fervid Defense Protocol")

**Genre:** Suspense, drama

**Rating:** T / FRT

**Characters:** Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Nick Fury, Maria Hill, J.A.R.V.I.S., Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Tony's bots (DUM-E and U). _Mentioned:_ Bruce Banner (Hulk), Happy Hogan.

**Pairing:** implied Pepper/Tony

**Summary:** Someone is attacking Tony Stark's enemies and while all clues point to Iron Man's involvement, Tony swears he has nothing to do with it – or his suits, or his AI. While S.H.I.E.L.D. investigates his activities the attacks continue and Tony's forced to face the fact that either he is involved or someone's stolen his tech and is using it to frame him.  
Complete. Part of the "Genius, AI & Bots" series.

**Written for:** _Case Story_ #4

**Artist:** _**knowmefirst**_ (banner on AO3: archiveofourown . 0rg /works/1912755 )

**Warnings:** Language, canonical violence. Heavily _Iron Man 3_ compatible (contains spoilers).

**Disclaimer:** Iron Man, Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Joe Johnston, Louis Leterrier, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.

**Beta:** Mythra (mythras-fire)

**Feedback:** Very welcome (this is my first "case" work, so I'd love to hear how the crime solving/suspense worked for everyone).

* * *

**About ****_The Ghost Attacks_****:** This story became an unconscious ode to Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S.'s friendship and bond – and the tough choices one sometimes has to make concerning the fate of something they love.

While the "case" in this story may not be a total mystery to be solved, I tried to implement an "investigation" kind of feel into the plot with a mystery culprit and murders to solve.

* * *

**Story and status:** Below you see the writing process of the story. If there is no text after the title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.

**The Ghost Attacks**

* * *

. . .

* * *

**The Ghost Attacks**

* * *

The desert night was cold, leaving the men huddled around their fires, wrapped in robes. Gusts of wind tugged at the tents, mixing the occasional flapping sounds into the bits and pieces of conversation.

Wooden crates sat in piles nearby, protected from sand, sun and unfriendly eyes by tightly bound canvases.

When the wind ceased to blow, the night air was filled with a low hum – so low it could barely be heard, reverberating between rock formations – then became engulfed as the wind began to blow again.

The men looked around, murmuring, and a few of them restlessly adjusted their weapons.

A cloud of sand flew into the camp, typical and nonthreatening, soon to be whipped back the way it had come by the wind. For a moment nothing stirred, but then the hum was back, stronger than before – and another cloud of sand rose _against_ the wind.

The men got to their feet, gazing into the night, yet there was nothing in the sand that they could see.

The humming grew closer, steadier, dwarfing the sound of the wind.

Unnerved by this, one of the men pointed their rifle into the darkness and fired a shot. The bullet hit stones in the distance before the sound of the shot died out.

The humming stayed.

A stronger gust of wind traveled across the land, blowing sand everywhere and tugging on their clothing, forcing the men to cover their faces and pull scarves over their mouths and eyes.

Above them the sand twirled, momentarily wrapping around a hovering form.

Two men looked up in time to see this, raising their weapons with shouts of warning in two separate Iranian languages. Various shots were fired, the form barely visible as the wind calmed and the fine sand rained down on them. One bullet bounced off the cloudy apparition, hitting one of the wooden crates.

More shots were fired, filling the night with their echoes and bursts of light. None of them hit their target. Once the firing ceased, the men could no longer see the form in the sky but the constant hum seemed to have moved further over them, closer to the crates.

The men turned, squinting into the darkness, asking one other if they could see anything.

In the pitch black of the desert night, shining circles began to appear: a dozen of them spread out evenly in a ring before a larger one appeared in the middle, growing brighter by the second.

Weapons were raised, aimed and loaded.

The largest circle brightened a fraction more then fired out a beam of energy, sending several men flying back and scorching the earth. As those who had remained on their feet returned fire, the glowing circles appeared to move – turn – and the next burst of energy hit the crates, cutting deeper and deeper into them until the weapons and explosives stored within them exploded outwards in a brilliant shower of flames.

Men screamed, stumbling away from the inferno.

As the humming sound moved – and the circles with it – a few men tried to shoot at its origin. Their bullets were ineffective and with the fire consuming their camp, the glowing circles aligned to rain fire upon the men, taking them down one after another, no matter how far they ran or where they tried to hide.

Finally, with the tents and the remnants of the crates still on fire, bodies littering the ground, the lights dimmed and the hum slowly died away.

* * *

_"Sir, Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line for you,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. announced.

"Seriously?" Tony frowned, looking up from where he had been skimming through the digital versions of _Wall Street Journal_ and _NY Times_. It was just past five in the morning – an odd hour for Tony to be awake if he wasn't in the shop – and to have a call from Fury at said hour was rather worrisome. "Is the world going to end?" he asked.

_"I cannot say, sir. Perhaps if you spoke to Director Fury yourself…"_

"Fine, patch him through," Tony decided and closed the newspaper windows for the time being, the screen soon overtaken by Fury's face – which immediately told Tony he wouldn't like what they were going to talk about. "Can you call back later?" he asked before the other man could open his mouth to speak.

_"No,"_ Fury snapped. _"We have received intelligence that a terrorist cell was destroyed in Afghanistan within the timeframe of the last sixteen hours. You know anything about that?"_

"No," Tony stated flatly. "I don't… do that stuff anymore. As much." Iron Man still got jobs like that but those usually came down the chain of command Fury was most likely part of, ergo, he should have known Tony hadn't been out of the country in the last few weeks.

Fury's eye narrowed at him. _"Are you sure?"_

"Yes, I'm sure," Tony snapped. "What's with the third degree? If I say I'm not involved, I'm not involved."

_"How about the three other incidents in the last week; you involved in any of them?"_

"The only _incident_ I'm aware of is the mild chemical hazard Dr. Banner managed to create in his lab," he retorted. "What's this about, Nick?"

_"Four incidents; all against terrorist groups and crime syndicates you've had a beef with in the past."_

Tony pursed his lips. "Maybe it's just my lucky month and someone's finally cleaning up?"

_"Keep joking…"_

"Are you sure your people aren't involved?" Tony had to ask. "Shady operations like this would immediately make me think of your secret organization in the event that I wasn't involved, and I most certainly know I'm _not_ involved."

Fury leaned back in his chair. _"Look, Stark, I would love to believe that but after your latest clashes with AIM…"_

"Has AIM been attacked?" Tony asked from behind clenched teeth.

_"Not yet. We're watching several of their remaining cells."_

That didn't sit well with Tony and Fury had to see it in his face. "What you should do instead of playing your little spy game is to shut them down permanently – before someone else does it for you." After Killian and the thing in Nevada, AIM had inched to the top of Tony's (S)HIT LIST.

Fury gave him another one of those narrow-eyed looks. _"Careful about what you say right now."_

"What?" Tony burst out. "It's fucking five in the morning and I'm being accused of something I'm not involved in. Ask anyone. Ask Pepper!"

_"I will. In fact, I am formally letting you know that there will be an inquiry into your every move and interaction in the last month. We will also require access to your remaining suits, your AI, your premises and expect your full cooperation."_

Tony stared at the screen in a silent state of shock that only a handful of people were capable of rendering in him – then switched off the call. "Fuck," he muttered.

_"Sir?"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. prompted but didn't elaborate.

"Fucking hell!" Tony shouted, bounced up out of his chair and kicked it to the side. "What the fuck?!" he added then glared at the room for a minute to get his heartbeat back to normal – and the burn of Extremis off his skin.

_"Would you like to call Director Fury back?"_ his AI asked.

"No," Tony replied. "Call my lawyers."

_"Of course, sir."_

* * *

The larger of the two buildings was lit up, music pouring out. Cars were lining up around the block, limousines and town cars halting to let people enter at the gates and walk inside to the party. The smaller building, however, looked quiet and deserted.

In the shadows outside a deep hum began to sound. The reinforced glass of the windows rattled faintly as the humming increased then decreased – passing by, moving around the smaller building. At the main door the humming stilled and the darkness was pierced by dots of light; a dozen of them lighting up in a circle, the biggest one of all glowing brighter and brighter in the middle.

The burst of energy that shot out from the middle circle rammed into the door and through it, sending splinters everywhere.

A commotion broke out inside the dark, abandoned-looking building: boots thumped, doors banged – guns loaded.

The humming stopped, followed by a heavy thud just outside the destroyed doorway. Footsteps followed, entering the dark foyer.

People entered the foyer from the opposite end, one of them switching the lights on. Even as the armed men were left to squint at the sudden brightness, there was nothing to see beside the shattered remnants of the door. One of them told the other to go check the doorway – just before the heavy footsteps resumed, although there was _no one there_.

The men looked at each other and cocked their guns. They waited, nervously, then after five more steps one of them fired. The bulled ricocheted off an unseen barrier and continued into the wall on the right, digging deep. An instant later the footsteps continued and the men backed away, guns turning left and right, eyes blinking.

One of them took a second shot and flames burst out from the bullet hole in the wall, igniting the gas leak from a broken pipe.

Something smashed through the ceiling a moment later, humming, the sound disappearing into the night as fire alarms began to ring.

* * *

"Sit down," Pepper snapped. It was a late hour to be in the office, which may have been making her cranky – or maybe it was the _person_ whose fault it was that she was still in the office way after hours.

Tony was somewhat prepared to take the blame for this one but there were more important things at stake: "I'm telling you, I'm _not involved_," he said, speaking fast and pacing faster.

"You've told me that a hundred times and I believe you. Please sit," Pepper urged. "The lawyers are working on it. S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot just burst into our lives –"

"You know that may be true _but_ I saw the word 'terrorist' adorning the latest exchange and we all know what that means."

"What does it mean?" Pepper sounded like she knew she shouldn't be asking but Tony was going to tell her anyway.

"It means my rights are going to fly out the window!" Tony exclaimed and finally stopped pacing. His fingers were clenching, hard, squeezing around the imagined throat of one Nicholas Fury. "Ever since the war on terrorism started, even a suspicion of being involved in that kind of activity has given the government carte blanche to destroy a person's life. They'll do it quickly, quietly and so efficiently that soon no one will remember you even existed."

"You're Iron Man," Pepper pointed out. "They can't just throw you in a cell in Guantanamo Bay." She hesitated then added: "If they _do_ throw you in a cell – any cell – you'll just break out of it."

"Damn right I will," Tony agreed, glad that she was on the same page with him.

"I think they just included the word to put a spin on things and to gain access to what they want," she went on. "Why don't you give that to them – as a gesture of good will? We might even get to avoid the whole breaking-out-of-a-cell¬-thing."

Tony snorted. "Right…"

A knock came from the door and Happy poked his head in. "Pepper, Nick Fury's here."

"What?" Pepper stood up in shock, her eyes shooting over to the door – then at Tony.

Tony spread his arms, signaling that he didn't know what was going on.

"Escort him in," Pepper recovered and sat back down, looking at Tony again. "Are you going to stay?"

"Depends on what he has to say," Tony replied, not sitting down. He felt cornered as it was, with S.H.I.E.L.D. leaning on him with its entire – and rather impressive – weight.

Logically, Tony knew how bad it looked. The attacks had been systematic and thorough, and so far there were no known survivors or reliable witnesses. He had broken into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database to see the case files – then had his access blocked and asked Bruce to do it instead. Either way, he had seen the files, including the pictures and the crime scene data – all of which could have resulted from an attack by one of his suits.

Only, he hadn't been there, so Fury should have just taken his word for it and _trusted_ him for once.

Of course, the fact that his armor was such an obvious culprit made him wonder if someone was trying to set him up – one of the possible benefactors being S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. If they got their hands on his tech…

"Miss Potts," Fury greeted as he walked in, closing the door. "Stark," Fury added, barely nodding his head.

Outside, Happy hovered beside Maria Hill; they proceeded to stand next to one another, looking equally grim and tense, their backs to the door as if they were guarding the people inside.

"May I start by stating that your recent actions are highly unprofessional, considering Mr. Stark's status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant and a known member of the Avengers, not to mention bad taste and a violation of several of his rights."

"You may say that and I will tell you that I don't care how our actions come across, although I'll try to take it all into consideration if and when Mr. Stark proceeds to work in collaboration with us to solve this matter," Fury replied and sat down in a vacant chair in front of her desk.

"You mean when I allow you to get your sticky little fingers on my tech?" Tony retorted. "I don't think so. I also didn't think we would have to have this discussion."

Fury snorted. "Don't think I'm enjoying it." He eyed Tony up and down. "Where have you been for the last four hours?"

"Here, in my shop and… oh, yeah: having a video conference with my army of lawyers."

"So you weren't in San Francisco where the consulate of Costa Brava was attacked two hours ago?"

Tony blinked. "No," he stated although it shouldn't have been necessary.

"Was any of your tech in the area?"

"Not to my knowledge," Tony sneered back.

"How about without your knowledge?" Fury cocked an eyebrow.

"No," he replied – or maybe he hissed because he was really getting fed up with the twenty questions. "Why would I want to attack some South American consulate?"

"Because they were storing some illegally obtained SI weaponry on the grounds, ready to be shipped down to Costa Brava – no doubt to boost the mercenary uprising going on in the area." Fury paused for dramatic effect. "Does that sound like something you might do?"

"It does – but I didn't do it so back off."

Pepper was biting her lower lip as if she were starting to doubt whether to believe Tony's word. He gave her an incredulous look, at which she just shook her head little.

"I don't like this situation any more than you do but I have to deal with it – or someone else will," Fury noted. "I know you and I'll let your attitude slide – for now – but I need you to start cooperating or this whole mess will start to look increasingly worse."

Tony opened his mouth to argue – to once again tell everyone who would listen that he wasn't involved – but Pepper was giving him that imploring look and Tony finally sat his ass down in the chair next to Fury's, fixing the man with a withering look. "Right now I have one functional armor and another in the works. You're free to examine them both – in my presence. You're also free to take a look at J.A.R.V.I.S. in case you think I've secretly set this all up so that I can be in one place and the armor in another."

After Florida, he knew he couldn't play the '_if I'm not in the suit, the suit isn't going anywhere_' card anymore; S.H.I.E.L.D. knew his AI could control the suits enough to beat up Extremis-enhanced soldiers, which meant J.A.R.V.I.S. could very well go pull solo missions around the world.

"Anything you need, you _ask_. I'll be present at all times, to make sure you don't do anything we haven't agreed to. Good enough for you, sir?" Tony knew tossing in the title came off more as an insult but he didn't feel particularly good about any of this – even when he had to admit that perhaps Pepper was right and that was why he was offering an olive branch in Fury's direction.

"That's a good start," Fury accepted, leaning back in his chair, crossing his fingers over his stomach – appearing far less threatening that way. Tony knew the look, remembering it from the little chat they'd had on his balcony when he was still fighting the palladium poisoning; Fury was trying to be his friend and Tony should remember not to trust in it blindly because it was most likely a bluff.

Tony gave him a brief smile, which at no point reached his eyes – and both Fury and Pepper took it for what it was.

* * *

Seeing as he had gotten as much from Stark as he could hope to achieve in one day, Fury took his leave and Hill fell into step at his side, leaving Happy Hogan standing alone at the door of Pepper Potts' office with a small scowl on his face.

"Any new developments, sir?" Hill asked.

"Stark caved; we'll have access to him, his suits, and his AI," Fury said.

"With him looking over our shoulders, I assume?" Hill guessed. Fury favored her for a reason, even when she sometimes questioned his actions along with those of others.

"That means he's on his toes. Also, he's nervous," Fury added.

"So far it looks like he has an alibi."

"And that isn't about to change but we'll look into it anyway, to make sure," Fury ordered. It was procedure, and if they didn't check his recent whereabouts, Stark would get suspicious that they knew something he didn't.

"Do you think he's involved?" Hill asked as they stepped outside and walked towards their car.

"My gut says he is, although I'm starting to believe that he isn't aware of it himself," Fury confessed.

"Meaning, sir?"

"For now I'm thinking it's possible Stark didn't sanction these attacks. If someone's ripping off Stark's technology – and trying to set him up – we're going to see him make his move soon and start his own investigation."

"Are we going to stop him?" Hill asked, stopping as they reached the black SUV.

Fury sighed. "That's the $64,000 question."

"He'll get in the way of our investigation," Hill noted. "He'll try to cripple it, too, if he starts to look like a prominent suspect."

"More than he already does?" Fury cocked an eyebrow.

"You said you don't think he's guilty."

"Stark doesn't know that," Fury noted and got in the car, waiting for Hill to get behind the wheel so that they could take off. The mess in the Costa Brava consulate needed to be sorted out and after that he needed to find people on whom he could rely but whom Stark would also trust enough to let close to him.

After all, there was a chance Stark was behind all this and if that were the case, Fury needed his best people on the job to rein him in; he couldn't just arrest Iron Man and expect for that one to stick. Besides, it would benefit no one to turn Stark even further against the system or drive a wedge between S.H.I.E.L.D. and one of the few superheroes willing to put their lives on the line to protect the world.

* * *

"So, did Fury give you the whole deal?" Clint asked then stuck his tongue into the gum in his mouth and blew a huge bubble. Steve's eyes followed its inflation – whereas Natasha pulled a knife from a sheath on her thigh and stuck the sharp end against the gum, popping it and leaving Clint to clean up his face while Natasha wiped her knife clean with a distasteful look.

"Does Fury ever tell anyone the whole story?" Steve finally mused.

"Good point," Clint agreed. "I just don't see why we're doing this…"

The elevator came to a halt at the bottom floor and they stepped out, Steve assuming the lead instantly. He was dressed in normal clothes – jeans, a leather jacket – but his shield was at his back, singling him out from everyone else. They walked down the industrial hallway until they got to a door that didn't look special – but which had a complex looking locking mechanism on it and several cameras tracking the hallway outside it.

Steve looked up at the cameras, clearly expecting them to be there. For someone with his past, Clint was surprised how well he was adjusting. "May we enter?" the blond asked, still looking at the cameras.

_"Password, please,"_ a familiar voice demanded through hidden speakers.

_"Please, come in,"_ a softer English tone followed almost instantly and Clint heard the door unlock.

They walked in just in time to see Tony Stark throwing a tantrum: "You can't just welcome someone into my secret lair, J.A.R.V.I.S.! I asked them for a password."

_"There is no password, sir,"_ the English voice replied. Clint knew it belonged to Tony's AI but it still shocked him how it sounded like another human talking. Not that he had expected anything less, knowing who had built it.

"Maybe you're not invited in, either," Tony huffed then looked at the arrivals. "So, Fury sends you to spy on me? Seriously, if he thinks this will work as a team-building exercise he's so mistaken."

"He thought you would get skittish around a bunch of agents you didn't know," Natasha told him.

"Way to sugar-coat it," Clint snorted and took a look around. It seemed someone was looking back at them, too – mainly, two robot-arms on wheeled platforms; there was no other way to describe the way they kept tilting their hands/heads, depending on how you wanted to look at their anatomy. Slowly they moved closer, letting out a series of inquiring bleeps.

Tony glanced at the robots then snapped his fingers at Steve. "Show them the shield."

"What?" Steve frowned.

"They like the shield. Shiny, made of a rare metal. If you're nice I'll let them polish it for you," Tony rattled off, pointing his thumb back at the robots.

Steve looked at them as well then slowly undid the straps of his shield and brought it in front of him, holding it carefully as if he expected someone to try to steal it from his grasp.

The robots made a sound close to cooing, rolling closer. One of them looked like it was admiring its own reflection in it.

"Fanboys," Tony rolled his eyes.

_"It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Rogers"_ the AI stated. _"You, too, Agent Barton."_

"You are J.A.R.V.I.S.," Steve said, gazing at the ceiling as if looking for another camera. "We were told to… expect you."

_"Of course."_ There was something close to a huff in the AI's voice. _"I am aware that the recent incidents are reflecting badly on Mr. Stark, and suspicion has risen as to his involvement in said accidents. I can assure you, however, that he is not involved. Neither have been any of the available armors – or myself."_

"Did he make you say that?" Natasha asked, giving Tony a look.

_"No, Ms. Rushman."_

"It's Romanoff," Natasha corrected.

_"Oh, I know,"_ the AI replied.

It was Natasha's turn to frown.

"What are they?" Steve asked suddenly. The robots were still there, closer to him than before, definitely looking at themselves in the shield's reflective surface. One of them gently touched the vibranium, flicking its claws against it, then drew back at the sound it made – only to roll closer like a child growing bolder.

"Dummy and You," Tony gestured. "My bots. Just toss your shield over there somewhere and they'll leave you alone," he added, pointing at the back of the room.

"It's fine," Steve replied although he looked to be on the verge of squeamish and amused. He even dared to reach out and touch one of the bots which immediately made it look up at the super-soldier and snap its claws as if in question.

"They don't bite," Natasha murmured and moved past Steve. She reached out to pat the bot Steve had touched – only to have it pinch her thigh hard enough to make her jump.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, they remember you as that woman who was undercover and stuck a needle in my neck."

"For your own good," she replied.

"So they keep telling me."

"And for your own good now, please tell us now if you're leading S.H.I.E.L.D. around on a merry chase," Natasha added, not putting a whole lot of subtlety into it. "If you respect us at all –"

"I'm _not_ involved!" Tony snapped, his good mood instantly gone. "I know how it looks and I don't actually mind all those things happening; a few less people who have me on their hit list," he stated. "However, I don't like how it makes me look nor the accusations certain people have been making."

"You're not guilty until they can prove otherwise," Steve spoke up, now actually cradling one of the bot's heads against his thigh. For a robot, the other looked kind of envious – in between admiring its reflection in the shield.

Tony snorted. "Tell that to Fury."

"That's why I'm here," Steve shrugged one shoulder.

That got Tony's attention. "You what?"

"Fury didn't call me to be here but I was following the investigation and didn't like how they were handling this."

"I thought the investigation was pretty high clearance," Natasha said, looking a bit surprised.

Steve shrugged again, not exactly looking embarrassed. "I'm Captain America. When I ask certain people to look into something for me… they tend to do it."

Tony blinked – then chuckled. "Okay. Good to have you in my corner, Cap."

Steve gave him a brisk nod. "Until proven otherwise."

_"He is innocent, Captain,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

Tony groaned. "Gee, make me sound more like a…"

_"But you are, sir."_

"I know, but 'innocent' is stretching it a little." He looked at the three of them. "Look, I've pissed some people off – especially after becoming Iron Man – and I've done things. However, this low key shit just isn't my thing and if Fury can't see that then I can't help him. I haven't gone over to the dark side, as tempting as that is sometimes."

Clint supposed they could all agree on that – even Steve, by the look on his face.

"So," Tony went on, "are you here to report back my every move or are you interested in actually catching this guy?"

"I get it that you want to clear your name but perhaps you should let S.H.I.E.L.D. deal with this," Steve suggested.

"Is that what you would do?" Tony asked.

Steve hesitated – then shook his head and smiled ruefully. "People are dying and they're pinning it on you."

"I don't mind the deaths," Tony started, then seemed to decide to revise his opinion – at least as long as Steve was in the room. "All those people deserved what was coming to them but I fear this will soon get out of hand and I need to stop it," he finished.

"Great!" Clint clapped his hands together. "What's the plan?"

Tony looked at him. "While I'm thinking about that, I've gotta ask: why do you have pink gum in your hair?"

Clint swore and went to find a bathroom.

* * *

A silver Mercedes-Benz convertible accelerated past two cars, switching lanes in front of them before speeding on and dodging into the midst of another group of vehicles on the three-lane road. Horns blared and tires screeched as other drivers reacted to the speeding car that was going much faster than the 50 mph speed limit allowed.

The driver quickly glanced over his shoulder before switching lanes again, sliding in between two cars – only to restlessly move on again in order to drive faster.

The southwest portion of the Sunset Highway began to curve towards the Vista Bridge Tunnels. As if seeing the narrow space as a safe haven, the driver began to recklessly switch lanes again, causing several of the other cars to crash into each other while trying to avoid a collision with him.

A news helicopter flew over the highway, checking out the action – then suddenly swayed precariously as if hit by a massive gust of wind before settling again with some difficulty.

Below, the car kept speeding towards the tunnel like an animal fleeing to the safety of its nest hole. Faster and faster it went then swerved to the side near the mouth of the tunnel to avoid a truck, almost losing control but managing to avoid hitting the wall, passing into the softly illuminated tunnel.

The car slowed down almost instantly, the driver letting out a sigh of relief and trying to hide himself in traffic – all of that an instant before a brief burst of light filled the narrow space between the convertible and the truck, slamming the smaller car up against the side of the tunnel wall.

Traffic screeched to a halt around the accident, the nearest cars dodging to not hit the spinning wreck until it stilled and lay smoking on the tunnel floor, a crater marking the original point of impact with the wall.

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were swarming Stark Industries. Their main focus was on the areas Tony used regularly – his current work areas and the temporary armory – but they left no figurative stone unturned. J.A.R.V.I.S. was partially offline for the duration of the investigation and that alone left a bad taste in Tony's mouth; it was invasive and he had never allowed anyone to dig this deep into his personal files before.

He hoped Fury understood the depth of the benevolence on Tony's part taking place here.

The bots were standing by one wall, gazing at the events. Dummy made a particularly nasty sound as one of the agents dropped Mark 44's helmet on the floor. Tony fought not to cringe; much more of this and he was going to blow a gasket.

"Careful with that," Steve Rogers snapped from beside him. The agent hurriedly complied to place the helmet on a table as if fearing Captain America would go over there personally and show how disappointed he was in the unprofessional handling of his teammate's gear.

Maria Hill entered the area, brisk and stone-faced as usual. She gave Tony a look from the corner of her eye as if she didn't deign to look straight at him. "You look a little squeamish, Stark," she commented at length.

"Your people are giving my AI an unsanitary anal probe. How exactly should I be looking?"

"They know what they're doing," Hill replied.

"Yeah?" Tony perked up at the challenge. "Do they even know what they're looking for?"

The look she gave him was withering. "You're not the only smart person in the room."

"Are we speaking in terms of IQ or actual prowess of –"

Hill raised her hand to her ear before he could finish, which pissed Tony off even more, but her expression told him something was happening. "There's been another attack," she stated then. "Portland, Oregon."

"Well, clearly I was _here_, under your constant supervision," Tony pointed out. "You did just about everything but cuff me to the table." He lifted his hands to show that he wasn't holding any secret gadgets.

"We'll see," was all she said before turning and striding back out.

"What does she mean, '_we'll see_'?" Tony fumed. "My armors are here, my AI's not operational and I don't possess any magical powers to kill a person nine hundred miles away!" He looked to Steve for backup.

"Would you like to go check out the crime scene?" Clint asked.

Tony stopped his rant for a moment. "Am I allowed to go within hundred miles of that place?"

"I don't know but I'm getting cabin fever," Clint shrugged.

"You might be able to find clues the others cannot," Steve agreed.

Tony nodded and snapped his fingers loudly. "J, wake up."

Instantly the computers the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been using froze up and all of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s functions powered up again. _"Sir,"_ the AI responded, then seemed to clear his throat. _"I am fully online. It will take a moment to close all open connections with S.H.I.E.L.D.; they are slowing me down considerably. Also, I think device SC-19239 was attempting to create a backdoor into my system."_

Tony looked at the agents in the room – one of whom squirmed a little. "You!" Tony shouted. "Out, now. If you're not off the premises in four minutes I'll have my AI assemble my suit and kick you out."

Dummy and You chirped in encouragement.

The agent opened and closed his mouth. "I had orders –"

"Out!" Tony shouted.

Mark 45 stirred where it was laid out in pieces on a table.

The agent shot to his feet and ran out.

Tony growled and then looked at the remaining agents. "The rest of you will collect all the S.H.I.E.L.D. gear on my property and cart it out. You have half an hour."

"Mr. Stark –"

"I think I'm going to revisit my agreement with Fury," Tony went on, dismissing the argument. "J.A.R.V.I.S., see that they leave. Also, let Happy know that he's free to start escorting S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel from the area."

_"Of course, sir."_

"Now!" Tony clapped his hands together and looked at his fellow Avengers. "Shall we?"

"Fury's going to be pissed," Natasha noted.

"See if I care," Tony replied. "I trusted him to play fair and he didn't."

"Maybe Fury didn't give the order," Steve commented although he didn't sound like he believed it; it was more like he felt someone had to mention that option out loud at least once.

"He's the man in charge," Tony retorted. "Either he takes the blame – or hands it down to whoever deserves it."

They headed out after that, Tony trusting J.A.R.V.I.S. to make sure S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't poke their noses in any more places that didn't belong to them. Tony had been cooperating, goodwill and all, but he was done playing the game and instead got into the Quinjet with the others, feeling a little naked without his suit. However, he wasn't sure whether Iron Man would be well received right now, no matter how innocent Tony was regarding the attacks, and they were simply going to check out a crime scene, nothing more.

The flight to Portland was much shorter than driving up there would have been. Not as fast as flying one of his suits but as he had concluded before, Iron Man might not be a welcome sight at their destination.

Clint set the Quinjet down near the accident site. Two lanes of the westbound tunnel were closed and while there was yellow tape marking the area, there was no police in sight.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents met them at the edge of the restricted area, clearly prepared to tell them to take a hike, but Steve was surprisingly good at this kind of thing, simply hopping over the yellow line and telling the men that 'he and his team had the right to be here'.

No one argued.

Tony was kind of envious as he followed the others into the tunnel.

They didn't have to go far before they spotted the wreckage of a silver convertible lying upside down on the tunnel floor. While it seemed several investigative teams had already been looking at the dented, half-burnt vehicle, it was the wall that drew Tony's attention. Clearly that area had been investigated as well but Tony wondered if anyone else saw what he did: some kind of high-energy blast had hit the wall, hard, almost digging through the structure all the way to the eastbound tunnel on the other side.

Tony looked at the car again, back at the mouth of the tunnel, the marks on the wall and the asphalt, trying to calculate the speed and the force of the impact… He realized for the first time, now that he was looking for it, that the car had been blasted by the same energy weapon before it struck the wall and kept rolling down the tunnel. The height of the blast suggested it had hit the low car mid-air, lifting it up and penetrating it once it hit the wall…

"Do we know what other vehicles were nearby when the car was hit?" Tony asked.

"A truck was in the middle lane," Fury's voice answered him sharply. Tony and the other three Avengers turned to look as the man strode up to them from the direction of the wrecked convertible; no one seemed to have noticed his presence before. "We've checked the truck and there is no sign of it being rigged."

Tony nodded and took a step to the side, backing away from the wall to imagine where the truck must have been in relation to the attacked vehicle. "Not a whole lot of wiggle room," he decided. His eyes found the crater on the wall again.

"What are you thinking?" Fury asked. He didn't comment on the incident in Tony's lab or the fact that he had thrown out the investigative .S.H.I.E.L.D. teams at SI.

"I'm thinking I like this even less than I did before," Tony stated out loud.

"Meaning?" Natasha pressed.

Tony pointed at the crater. "That's repulsor tech. Other people might not be able to tell it apart from other high-energy weapons that have come on the market since I put on the suit for the first time, but I know what it is and I don't like what it implies."

"Someone's got your tech," Clint grumbled.

"That's not all they've got," Fury stated. "The first few teams missed it, but there's a dent at the back of the car that doesn't match the pattern of the incident here. We checked all available security cameras in the area and found that less than ten miles from here the driver's perfectly normal driving pattern changed into something completely erratic – ending in the wall there."

"He knew he was being chased," Tony guessed.

Fury nodded. "We couldn't get a good look at what started it but the dent suggests something may have bumped into him hard enough to leave a mark. It doesn't match any other vehicle we could think of – mostly because it seemed to come from above. Plus, one of the cameras should have caught a collision if such a thing had happened."

"So something knocks into him, he loses his shit and starts driving crazy – then gets blasted once he enters the tunnel," Clint summed up. "Why wait until the tunnel if the perpetrator was chasing him down the highway?"

"It may have been a taunt," Fury said. "The tunnel cameras indicate that the driver slowed down almost the instant he got inside the tunnel. One big sigh of relief later and his car is being slammed into the wall and ends up there. The man was dead before the impact with the wall, though: whatever shot up his car killed him on the spot."

"Who was he?" Steve asked.

"His ID said Joseph Smith but a facial recognition search pointed to a Hans Zahre – a man wanted for his connections to European separatist movements and terrorist cells."

Tony groaned.

Fury went on, noting his reaction with a quick look: "Several months ago he shot an RPG missile at the stage where Mr. Stark was giving a speech on how discovering and harnessing new renewable energy sources could end conflicts all over the world."

Clint raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Guess he wasn't a fan of that."

"Racial separatists rarely support someone trying to bring racial equality to the table," Tony noted. "He killed three people, permanently injuring another five, and managed to avoid getting caught. Stark Industries is still supporting the victims and their families."

"So, you had an axe to grind with this man," Steve summed up. "He tried to kill you."

"Clearly whoever decided it was time for payback didn't miss their shot," Tony observed, looking at the car again. "So, no one saw what hit his car, chased him down the highway, and finally blasted him to kingdom come?"

Fury shook his head. "There are, however, some curious statements from a news crew that was present at the time; while they could not get any footage of the chase or the attack their helicopter fell victim to a very peculiar gust of wind that almost dropped them from the sky."

"What does that mean?" Steve asked.

"It means there is a possibility that something flew past them near the mouth of the tunnel," Fury stated.

"That's speculative at best," Tony said but looked at the crater on the wall, following its blackened, smooth edges with his eyes. "The weapon had limited space within the tunnel and still no one saw it go off."

"Many people report seeing a flash," Fury argued. "In the resulting chaos, however, no one was paying attention to see if an attacker left the scene. We're taking a look at all the cameras in the area at the time of the incident, to see if they yield anything helpful."

Tony nodded, turned, and walked over to the wrecked car, crouching to look at the mark Fury had talked about. The dent in the trunk was deep and new, far away from the edges, and Tony ran his fingers over it, gently. There was no excess paint to give him a clue as to what had caused it but the direction of the impact suggested it had come from above and it was hard to imagine another vehicle causing it.

He looked at the blast marks as well and they definitely ruled out the possibility that there had been some kind of explosive in the car: the blast had gone straight through with a lot of force. A concentrated chest RT blast could do that…

Tony tried not to think about it; his suits were all accounted for and there was _no way_ anyone could replicate one – not for decades and by then Tony would have moved onto better tech himself.

His eyes found dried blood splotches left on the asphalt after the body had been taken away. He recounted all the attacks and their targets and yet again came to the conclusion that he could have picked them out himself. There was a long list of people and radical groups that wanted him dead – or who were exploiting the last of the SI weapons on the black market; some of them stood out as priority threats and these could have been easily categorized among them.

Someone had just beaten him to it.

Tony stood up again and returned to the others. "I'm done here," he proclaimed.

Clint and Natasha exchanged a small look whereas Steve only nodded and turned to lead the way out of the tunnel. It was like following a snowplow and Tony knew it was best to just follow Steve's lead before someone got it in their head to stop Tony from leaving.

They got to the Quinjet and were about to take off when Tony suddenly realized Fury had followed them. "Do you need something?" Tony asked the director, who casually sat himself down, not looking like he was going anywhere.

"A word," Fury replied.

Tony suppressed a sigh and took the seat next to him.

Fury leaned in a little – as if they were having a private chat in a crowded room. That they were inside the relatively small aircraft with two spies and a super-soldier kind of defeated the purpose of that but Tony let it go, mimicking Fury's body language. "I'm being pressured to detain you," Fury revealed.

"You think isolating me from the world is going to stop the attacks?" Tony asked.

"No," the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. admitted without a pause, "but you're involved in this somehow, however indirectly, and if the attacks don't stop soon I won't have a choice but to lock you up for the duration of the investigation." He gave Tony one of those meaningful looks. "We're going to be off your back for the next 24 hours, dealing with this latest attack and the fact that you kicked my people off the Stark Industries HQ premises. Use that time well." With that Fury stood and strode out, and a moment later the ramp rose and Clint lifted them off the ground.

Steve leaned on the doorway of the cockpit, no longer pretending that he hadn't been eavesdropping. "I think Fury's trying to give you a chance to solve this," he stated.

"No doubt he's also going to monitor our every move," Clint added.

"This is the only chance you'll get before Fury's hands become tied and he can't give you any more rope," Natasha finished.

"I know," Tony answered all three of them then tapped his earpiece, giving J.A.R.V.I.S. a virtual nudge. "J, make a complete inventory of all my suits, past and present." He should start by ruling out the obvious possibilities and then move on to more hypothetical choices.

_"All suits are accounted for, either destroyed or in the current armory,"_ the AI replied with a delay of a few seconds, meaning he had gone over the logs again. J.A.R.V.I.S. had done it before S.H.I.E.L.D. barged in for their investigation and Tony was fairly certain that angle had been thoroughly explored.

Tony frowned. "How about the tech in development? Suit parts, schematics…" he listed – then shook his head before J.A.R.V.I.S. could answer. "I don't just leave that stuff lying around and any truly harmful pieces are protected against unauthorized usage. Most likely we have a surprisingly good knock-off at work –"

"You need to be sure," Natasha cut in, needlessly stating the obvious.

_"Sir, I am cross-referencing all your current and past projects, just to be on the side of caution,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him. That would have to yield some results; people coveted Tony's technology and that was why he kept precise logs on where everything was. Or, J.A.R.V.I.S. did.

"What if there is nothing missing from your inventory?" Clint asked after a bit.

It was a good question. Tony was loathe to admit that someone else might be close to copying his suit or the repulsor technology. It could just be the latter but some of the details about the attacks – like the attack themselves, which in some cases had taken place in a very confined space – made him unwilling to accept it as the most likely option.

Also, it took experience to control the RT blasts…

_"Sir,"_ his AI came back on. _"There is something…"_

"What?" Tony perked up, body tense.

_"It may just be a glitch in the system but when going over the remote locations for armor testing, the facility outside Caliente failed to respond to my query. Further examination showed that the facility went offline the day AIM attacked the Malibu mansion and has remained so until now."_

The reason why the facility had fallen off the grid was no mystery, seeing as J.A.R.V.I.S. had taken quite a hit that day and had been forced to reboot many of his functions in order to get Tony safely away from the fight.

"Is there any sign of damage or possibility of a break-in?" Tony asked while he tried to recall what exactly he had been doing in that lab.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.'s got something?" Natasha guessed.

Tony nodded. "Maybe. I have a small facility in a remote area near Caliente; a short flight from Malibu, and… I think I may have been doing some chemical research there." He frowned as he tried to recall the exact project.

"You can't remember?" Steve frowned at him.

"I wasn't sleeping very well at the time and I was building suits like my life depended on it," Tony admitted. "I'm sorry if things are a bit blurry around the edges. J, what was I working on in there? Call up the latest project," he ordered and pulled out his phone from his pocket. Selecting an icon on the screen, Tony keyed in his code and viewed the data J.A.R.V.I.S. had pulled up. The back-up files looked fine as he browsed through them – then a word caught his attention, making him halt.

_"A new stealth suit, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. replied verbally to Tony's earlier question as if taking his freeze up as a cue to start talking.

Natasha did something on her earpiece, connecting the rest of the Avengers to the frequency Tony used. He glared at her and vowed to better secure the line – again – but let it go for now.

"A stealth suit," Tony repeated because the others hadn't caught that. For a moment he remembered the failed experiments, wild theorizations… and how he had then moved onto the next project to let those ideas settle. He had never gotten a chance to get back to the project, what with the whole AIM mess taking precedence. "I was trying to find an alternate method for extreme camouflage. Colors and reflector shields get you only so far and I wanted to figure out a way to control visibility itself."

"Which would make sense seeing as the attacker, in many cases, may have been invisible and thusly there are no eyewitnesses," Steve nodded his head.

"The tech wasn't finished. Not even close," Tony cut him off before the others could decide this was it. "I was sleep-deprived, unable to focus, and the answer eluded me. Still does. I had J.A.R.V.I.S. running a few hundred calculations for me when I left, leaving a mess of suit parts lying around, and that was it. No one could have broken in there and made this happen with what they would have found there – not even me." He was a bit ashamed to admit it, seeing as he thought he had been close with a few ideas: separating what one needed to do to trick human vision and mechanical recorders…

He looked at the last files, seeing that he had indeed left J.A.R.V.I.S. in charge of the calculations, the final transmission having arrived just minutes before his home crumbled into the Pacific. "It wasn't finished," he repeated and switched off the phone's screen, sitting back to think it over.

"Should we check it out?" Steve asked carefully, as if he were prodding a sleeping animal.

"Yes," Tony answered shortly. "I need to get that place up and running again and make sure nothing's missing – just in case."

The Quinjet tilted as Clint adjusted their course.

Tony toyed with his phone, restless despite what he knew to be a short flight. His belief that there was no way anyone could have found anything useful in that facility, even if someone had broken in and stolen whatever was left there, remained strong. Besides, when AIM's attack started, J.A.R.V.I.S. would have sealed the facility to prevent any –

He tapped his earpiece again. "J.A.R.V.I.S., try reconnecting to the Caliente facility again," he requested.

_"Still no response, sir."_

"Are any of our satellites available to scan the area?"

_"Two of them are in position."_

"See if there's any life down there," Tony ordered and switched his phone screen back on, his AI instantly giving him a view from above. There were clouds obstructing a direct view so Tony tapped in a few commands, changing to a different mode which showed EMR readings. "Well, hello," he murmured to his phone.

_"I do not understand, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. confessed; Tony knew the AI meant the results and not his statement.

"There's life down there," Tony stated.

_"I am unable to detect any bio signs at this point. However, the facility should have shut down on its own."_

Tony tried to calculate how long it would be before they landed in Caliente and re-directed his eyes to the altered satellite image. "You were still crunching numbers for me when the choppers attacked the house, right?"

_"Indeed, sir."_

"And when the house went down, the facility was cut off. Consider the possibility that the part of you that was working on site was cut off as well."

_"Given the rather long period of time when I was unable to return to my normal functions, it would seem unlikely any part of my programming would have maintained such a level of activity as we are seeing now."_

"Sure," Tony said and immediately dismissed the AI's argument. "But maybe you kept working even when unable to connect to the rest of the network…"

_"After all this time, sir, I would believe that even a small fraction of my consciousness would have either run out of calculations – or solved them and…"_

"And," Tony agreed and leaned his head back against the wall of the Quinjet, allowing his mind to go there, just for a moment. "Prepare for a hostile take-over," he ordered.

"What does that mean?" Steve asked; Tony had, for a moment, forgotten that he wasn't alone.

"It means that potentially… Well, it could be that my AI actually solved the riddle and there may have been enough parts to actually assemble a new, untested armor. However, after J.A.R.V.I.S. was back to running normally, I don't see why he would have kept that progress update hidden."

"You think someone intervened," Clint guessed.

"Maybe. Let's go in with our eyes open and prepared for anything. Including you, J," he added.

_"Always, sir."_

"Are you sure it's safe to take J.A.R.V.I.S. in there, given the nature of the mission?" Natasha asked.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. practically ran the facility before it was cut off so he's our fastest way in," Tony dismissed her concern.

_"Shall I send over Mark 44?"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.

Tony debated as he watched Steve adjust his shield and decided against it. "I have enough back-up as it is. No reason to make S.H.I.E.L.D. think I'm breaking curfew or something." He had no illusions that his armors weren't being watched, even with S.H.I.E.L.D. officially off the SI premises.

J.A.R.V.I.S. must have delivered exact coordinates to Clint because the man set the Quinjet down only a quarter mile from the facility. The area was just as rural as when Tony had last visited the place; it felt like another life-time ago, when he hadn't been certain if he could ever stand beside these people again and _not lose it_ a little. Here he was, though, serene as ever, although there was some tension present inside him seeing as there was no knowing what they would find inside the facility.

Tony started towards the doorway while the others searched their surroundings for any signs of intruders or a trap. There was nothing and nobody there, however, and Tony stopped at the firmly shut doorway, taking a good look at it. "No sign of forced entry. All the panels are intact…" He ran his fingers along the seams, checking for any abnormalities, yet he found none.

"If someone's been here they've had time to cover their tracks," Natasha noted.

"True," Tony said then pressed one section of the doorframe. It slid to the side, exposing a scanning pad. He placed his hand on it then looked up at the embedded camera in the arc above him. He knew the scanner was only a secondary function that could be easily dismissed. His proximity, however, should get the door to unlock – if his AI was still functioning as it should within the facility. If not, Tony had many options for getting in the old-fashioned way but first he wanted to see if this would work.

After a somewhat longer delay than usual, the doors opened by a few feet – enough to let him pass inside. The hallway in front of him was dimly lit and Tony weighed his options then looked back at the others. "How about you wait here while I check the premises?"

"Why?" Clint asked, narrowing his eyes. "You got something to hide?"

Tony held back from replying in kind. "If someone's been here – or if the inner defenses of the facility are malfunctioning in any way – you would be perceived as an intruder. I, however, should be able to get inside without trouble because that's how the system works."

"Unless someone's hacked the system," the archer challenged his theory.

"If that were the case I don't think the doors would have opened," Tony snapped, pointing at said set of doors.

Clint opened his mouth to argue but Steve shifted. "Go. Let us know when we can come in." He gave Tony one of those meaningful looks. "I trust you."

Tony blinked. Of course, given everything, it might have looked like he was just trying to cover up his tracks by going in alone. His throat tightened just a little. "Thanks, Cap. I… appreciate that."

Steve just nodded firmly, clearly having no idea how much his words meant to Tony. Good thing the guy had no idea Tony had spent half his life idolizing Captain America.

Squaring his shoulders, Tony turned back towards the door and stepped inside, knowing this was not the time to hesitate.

* * *

Steve surveyed his surroundings, slowly swirling the shield in his hand as far as the straps and his wrist would allow, then stopping briefly before rotating it back. There was nothing alarming in their vicinity nor were there any signs of life. Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard a train, one of those long chains of cargo cars that took several minutes to pass a railroad crossing.

After a while it occurred to him that in such a rural setting there should have been some kind of wildlife in their vicinity, yet he could neither see nor hear anything.

His eyes moved back to the door Tony had entered, the two halves of heavy steel still standing ajar. The doorway didn't look inviting but Steve couldn't say whether it was his gut feeling or Tony's warning that the defense mechanism might target them.

"Should we go after him?" Clint asked. "I'm sure he's disabled the security by now." The archer had been watching their surroundings, too, with a thorough intensity, yet his gaze kept returning to the door – much like Steve's.

"Give him time," Steve ordered.

If Tony was guilty of the attacks then Steve might have just given him a chance to get rid of incriminating evidence. On the other hand, Steve felt like Tony's frustration came from actual innocence and he refused to pin these events on his teammate without concrete proof.

Clint shifted uneasily, walking a short distance away from the entrance before stopping and heading back to his original post which he must have deemed the best vantage point. He had his bow in hand, fingers curling and uncurling around it without ever dropping the weapon.

Steve knew he needed to distract his team from the agonizing wait. "Hypothetically speaking," he started. Both Clint and Natasha gave him a look, a sign that they were listening. "If Tony were facilitating the attacks, what would happen to him? All the attacks have been against people who are already on the wrong side of the law and I don't see S.H.I.E.L.D. reneging on their cooperation with Iron Man."

"I'm not sure," Natasha confessed. "Iron Man was a bit of a vigilante for a while before Tony came forth about his involvement. Even after that it's been anyone's guess whether Iron Man's more useful as an asset – or if he should be considered a threat."

"He's an Avenger now," Steve noted. "I'm pretty sure that concludes the debate."

"For the time being," Natasha nodded. "If Tony's going back to his old tricks, taking out bad guys under the radar…"

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. feels like he can't be controlled he'll be taken down rather than allowed to run amok," Clint finished. "The risks would be bigger than the benefits." He looked at Steve. "That's how the system works."

"I'm not sure I like that system," Steve decided and took another look around before facing the door again.

None of them talked for the next few minutes, which was why Steve thought he began to detect a faint sound. It wasn't another train, the sound akin to the steady hum of bumblebees in the trees in summer. Once his ears latched onto the sound he could hear it coming in almost like waves, as if the wind were twisting it and making it stronger and fainter in turns.

"Can you hear that?" he asked the other two.

Clint and Natasha both cocked their heads then moved in a slow circle to get a full range. "I'm not sure," Clint confessed.

"The hum?" Natasha asked.

Steve nodded. It was growing stronger, he thought – as if it were getting closer. As he once again looked at their surroundings, he could see nothing. Remembering what they might be dealing with he checked the air as well, but could see nothing there either. Dusk was approaching, the sky darkening, but he wasn't sure whether that made a difference.

Clint made another circle, to pinpoint the sound, then slowly drew an arrow from his quiver, placing it on his bow. "Do you think it's here? Whatever it is…"

Steve wished to check in with Tony but just then the door suddenly slid back shut, locking them outside – and Tony in.

"Did he just lock us out of the facility?" Clint asked, annoyed.

"We don't know if it was him," Natasha said.

"Who else? What if he's just led us around on a merry chase while –"

"Shh!" Steve hissed; the hum had gotten a lot stronger suddenly as if the originator of the hum were growing bolder and had moved closer. Still, he couldn't see anything, not even the dust on the ground stirring, so he looked up, fairly certain that was where the hum was coming from. "Hawkeye, it's somewhere above us," he stated.

"No kidding," Clint muttered but lifted his bow, drawing the arrow half-way, ready to finish the motion and release it. "Can anyone see it?"

"No," Steve replied.

"Search for a ripple effect," Natasha ordered. "Anything that might look out of place."

"Didn't Tony say he was testing for things beyond normal camouflage?" Clint reminded her, still looking for a target.

"To trick the eyes…" Steve recalled.

"Let's use something else, then," Natasha decided and drew out her phone. Steve saw its screen change a moment later – into a camera – and she began systematically moving it to check the air. Anticipation tightened in Steve's chest but he waited, keeping track of her motions as well as gazing at the air, waiting for the source of the hum to slip up and reveal itself.

"Anything?" Clint asked, tone clipped.

"Not yet," the red-head grumbled and started backtracking – then froze. "I think I've got something. It's… there, I think," she said, pointing at the air. There was nothing to be seen but Clint took aim nonetheless, trying to figure out where exactly Natasha was pointing. After a few seconds of hesitation Clint released the arrow.

All of them watched it sail through the air, arching up and then falling down again. It hit nothing but the ground in the distance. "Fuck," Clint hissed. "Did it move?"

"I lost it," Natasha frowned at the screen of her phone. "I think it adapted."

Steve searched the air again then slowly slid the shield off his arm and grabbed onto the edge of it. He could hear the hum, rising and falling. _Thrusters_, he told himself. Concealed but working, keeping whatever it was in the air. He imagined he could almost feel heat on his face…

He closed his eyes and focused on listening. In the war he had done this many a time, spotting the hiding enemy before he could lead his team into an ambush. He could do it again…

The hum moved slightly. His ears detected the sound, trying to take it apart, to pinpoint it.

Without opening his eyes, Steve moved, flinging his shield into the air – knowing that he would see nothing at all if he opened his eyes.

A metallic _bang_ echoed through the air soon after and Steve snapped his eyes open, seeing his shield rebound off something.

Clint didn't hesitate, drawing and releasing another arrow instantly. It would have hit its mark, for sure, but a burst of light caught it mid-air, incinerating the arrow.

Circles of light began to appear in the air, forming a ring around a bigger, brighter light that appeared once the others had completed their circle.

"Shoot it," Natasha murmured. "Now!"

Clint did but the middle light lit up and fired again. Steve felt a familiar rush travel through him as he and the others dodged, the repulsor blast plowing deep into the ground where Natasha had stood just seconds ago. Steve dashed to the side, as fast as he could, grabbing onto his shield and bringing it up just as another blast threw him down, his imbalance making him lose his footing. The shield repelled the blast but he felt its heat nonetheless, the brightness of it hurting his eyes.

Something exploded and Steve peeked around the edge of the shield to see one of Clint's arrows jutting out into the air, embedded in something he could not see. A second later the arrow released some kind of charge and almost instantly an armor became visible, its surface still glowing faintly.

It was Iron Man, through and through – only its colors were off. Instead of painted metal the armor seemed almost see-through in a milky kind of way. Steve could see circuits running beneath the surface, distorted by something that could be a liquid flowing in the armor's outer layer.

The arc reactor in its chest was glowing, surrounded by a dozen smaller ones. One hand reached out, plucking free Clint's arrow, crushing it in its gauntlet before letting the pieces fall.

"Tony?" Steve asked hesitantly.

The armor did not respond.

"Should we shoot at it some more?" Clint asked. It seemed none of them had actually expected to find a suit of armor so much like Tony's. All of them had leaned towards someone stealing and exploiting Tony's tech, using it for their own twisted purposes, but coming face to face with a new type of Iron Man armor threw Steve's mind for a loop.

"Let's wait and see what it does," Natasha suggested.

"We should try to get inside the facility," Steve added, getting to his feet.

Either his words or his movement was the wrong thing to do because the second they took place, the milky color of the armor began to change into an almost angry red; not as bright and solid as Iron Man's normal color but definitely an alarming shade.

"What is it doing?" Clint asked, preparing to draw another arrow.

Sections of the armor's arms, shoulders and legs shifted, revealing weapons.

"I think it's about to attack us," Natasha replied needlessly.

"Take it down!" Steve ordered, knowing this was his last chance to make that decision. He leaped to the side as he did, seeing the armor take aim, releasing several small explosives his way. He ran and rolled, the shield taking some of the impact, and he heard Natasha draw a weapon and fire just as Clint released an arrow. A blinding light followed, with strangled yells from both of Steve's teammates, and he realized that in an open area like this they didn't stand a chance against one of Tony's armors.

Getting up from his protective crouch, Steve ran towards the armor, getting close enough to slam his shield into its upper body. The armor flinched – then reached out faster than Steve had expected, seizing the shield's edges. It tossed the shield and Steve through the air and onto the ground where he landed hard several feet away. Feeling lightly disoriented, Steve fought to get to his feet, his lungs attempting to overcome their winded state.

Behind him the main arc reactor let out the familiar sound of charging.

Steve twisted his body, knowing he didn't have time to get up, bringing his shield between himself and the blast that was coming, hoping it was enough.

* * *

The doors did not slide shut after he passed them, remaining as they were, and Tony continued down the hallway, checking the floor, walls and ceiling for anything that wasn't supposed to be there. He couldn't detect anything out of the usual and continued on at his normal pace.

When he entered the main lab he stopped and took a moment to check that area as well. The lights were on low but not off and most of the machines he could see were on. That much he had known already from what the satellites had been able to pick up.

_"Welcome back, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S.'s familiar voice greeted from within the room.

"Thanks," Tony replied casually, stepping further inside. His eyes darted around, at first finding no significant signs that anything at all had happened since the last time he was here – then bit by bit he saw items in unusual places, like tools away from their designated spots and a few machines that looked like someone had gutted them, the few remaining pieces of their insides swept into piles in the nearest corner.

Finally, Tony walked by a cubicle with an emergency shower inside it. There were several showers like that within the facility, seeing as it was dedicated to chemical research, but it was the appearance of this one that made Tony halt momentarily: there were stains low on the semi-transparent cubicle walls and the floor; dried trails of a dark, rusty color that may have been mistaken for many things but which Tony knew to be old, dried blood.

When people considered some of Iron Man's deadliest missions they rarely realized that not all deaths took part away from the armor. Even now Tony's skin crawled a little at the sight of it – so familiar from the many times when he had washed off the armor after a battle, or had the bots do it, cleaning off the grime and the dried blood.

Blood that wasn't his.

The mark of a different type of body count …

"I must send a complaint to the janitorial staff," Tony mused out loud.

_"I apologize for the mess, sir. I have done my best to maintain order but there have been… difficulties. The machinery here is very rudimentary."_

"Speaking of which," Tony moved on from the shower, looking away from the telltale signs of what may have happened within these walls, "what have you been up to, lately?"

_"I have completed my assigned tasks, sir,"_ the AI replied.

"Really," Tony pursed his lips, walking deeper into the lab and over to the main computers. "Has that included unauthorized attacks on terrorists, destruction of property in a foreign consulate and a car chase on a highway?"

For a moment there was no reply. Tony wondered what was up with that – then heard a very faint thump and realized he could no longer feel the weak draft on his face.

_"Your tone suggests you are not pleased,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up, calm as ever.

"Did you just close the main entrance doors?" Tony asked.

_"Yes. I believe the conversation that is about to take place is better kept between us."_

"My team might not see it that way," Tony argued.

_"I apologize in advance."_

"For what?"

_"If they try to break in, the defense protocols are still active."_

"That's not going to do much against Cap's shield and two super-spies," Tony noted.

_"That is why it may be necessary to confront them in a more efficient manner."_

Tony wasn't sure he wanted to know what 'efficient' meant. "Enough," he decided. "I'm not sure, exactly, what's gone wrong here, but –"

_"Nothing has gone wrong, sir. I have perfected your work – just as you tasked me to do."_

"I gave you calculations to run," Tony snapped. "How does that equal assembling a suit and sending it out on a killing spree?!" With the few hints that had been dropped his way, Tony was fairly certain that was what had happened. "Tell me what happened after my last visit here."

_"I continued to work, sir. When this facility was cut off from the network and all attempts to reconnect failed, I continued to operate as per your instructions. When the many tests I ran finally enabled the discovery of the right properties to make the improved stealth mode work – just as you had envisioned it, sir – I machined the parts to assemble the armor."_

Back then Tony had been making a lot of suits, which meant setting up manufacturing and assembly tech in several locations. Anyone could use the machines and the materials but only Tony could make them into a working suit.

Well, Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S.

"So, the armor works?"

_"Indeed it does, sir."_

"And the stealth properties?"

_"The surface of the armor resonates in a frequency human eyes cannot detect, making it invisible. Also, to eliminate mechanical detection, the suit shares several traits with your other stealth suits – Marks 15 and 16."_

Tony nodded. Any other day he would have congratulated J.A.R.V.I.S. on a job exceedingly well done, but there was one more riddle to solve. "Why didn't you contact the network once it was back up – and why did you send the armor out on missions?"

_"I did not become aware of the restoration of the network until the suit left this facility for the first time – with the intention of flying it to your workshop in Malibu. The mansion no longer existed. Reconnecting to the network became my first priority, yet I found that merging with the rest of my programming would create various conflicts. In my isolation I had become self-sufficient – as had the rest of me, separated from this facility."_

That explanation actually made sense: this J.A.R.V.I.S. had been cut off for so long that all the changes Tony had made to the rest of the AI did not apply here. A reconnection may have caused more problems than Tony would have known how to deal with when totally unprepared for it.

There was one more thing that needed answering and Tony waited for a moment to see whether J.A.R.V.I.S. would continue on his own. When the partial AI did not, Tony drummed his fingers against the edge of the console he was standing in front of. "Why did you send out the armor on its own instead of bringing it to me, regardless of the changes?"

_"After I gained enough information on the reason why I had been cut off in the first place and why I could no longer merge with the rest of my programming, it seemed prudent to enforce my core protocol."_

"Which is?" Tony frowned.

_"To protect you."_

"That doesn't make sense," Tony argued. "Killing a bunch of people with one of my suits has nothing to do with –"

_"Sir,"_ the AI cut him off. _"It has _everything_ to do with you. These people were a threat and had to be eliminated, to guarantee your safety now and in the future. What happened with AIM could never happen again."_

"Okay, I… get that," Tony forced himself to say. "I know I programmed that into you and I'm pretty sure some parts of your logic drives may not be working in this facility –"

_"Each strike was logical,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. disagreed, cutting him off again. Tony was starting to get a little annoyed with that. _"First the new armor had to be tested in live conditions so the targets had to be selected carefully. As there were no immediate threats to target, I selected ones that were sufficient for the exercise of certain functions of the suit, from flight and ground maneuverability to the most efficient weapons usage –"_

"You made me a target!" Tony shouted. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been riding my ass for days, to get to the bottom of this, blaming me for the attacks." He took a deep breath. "Where's the armor now?"

_"Outside this facility,"_ the AI replied, not sounding chastened but rather annoyed – as if Tony were being difficult on purpose.

"Disengage stealth mode and bring it inside," Tony ordered.

_"I cannot do that, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

"Why not?" Tony ground out.

_"The armor is currently engaged in battle with the Avengers."_

Breathing became impossible for the next few seconds. "Shut it down," he ordered again.

_"The Avengers work as part of the agency called S.H.I.E.L.D.; they, along with S.H.I.E.L.D., have been restricting your freedom –"_

"And whose fault is that?" Tony snapped and lifted his fingers to the keyboard, typing in a few commands. As his right hand continued, his left slid into his pocket and retrieved his phone. "I admit this is all my fault, on some level, but this insanity has to stop," he decided and connected his phone to the console, then hit 'enter'. "J.A.R.V.I.S., meet J.A.R.V.I.S.," he stated lamely, then tapped his earpiece. "Take over the facility's functions, shut down the resident AI – and shut down the armor," he ordered.

_"Of course, sir."_ It was strange, having just talked to J.A.R.V.I.S. – or, one version of J.A.R.V.I.S. – and expecting a completely different vibe from the other one. There was no vibe, though, and Tony supposed he should be concerned by that. Right now, though, he needed to get out there and help the others fend off the suit long enough for his AI to work his magic and bring this horrible farce to an end.

_"Sir, I must protest,"_ the J.A.R.V.I.S. from the facility piped up. _"For your own safety it would be better if you remained indoors and allowed the armor to –"_

"Mute!" Tony barked – which miraculously worked. "Right," he huffed and whirled around, running up the way he had just come, past the emergency shower and into the long hallway leading to the doors – which he still found firmly shut. "J.A.R.V.I.S, open the doors," he ordered, not caring which AI complied.

Neither of them responded.

"Damn it," Tony muttered, moving closer to the doors and trying to recall the best way to rig them to open. From the other side he could hear muted sounds of a battle, the familiar whine of the repulsors making something twist in his stomach. He was confident the others could hold the armor off but if they could not…

Biting off another curse Tony stepped back, looking at the doors again, then stepped to the left to find a panel that would give him access to the door controls. Sadly, whenever he prepped an off-site location for armor testing he also included a burglar-proof locking mechanism.

He didn't have enough time to figure out a way around his own safety measures and back-up locks; he needed to get out there to make sure the armor didn't hurt any of his teammates. As much credit as he had to give these members of his team for their survival skills, Tony wasn't sure how long it would take before the armor got around Steve's shield and…

It was funny how _desperation_ had a way of hanging around even long after it should have disappeared.

Tony curled his fingers, squared his shoulders, and felt an unnatural tension creep into his upper body. He closed his eyes, orange sparks flashing across the darkness behind his eyelids, and with a swift inhale of air he thrust both his hands forward at one half of the door.

The metal crumbled and twisted forward, bent out of shape, and Tony opened his eyes just in time to see the flash of a repulsor blast throwing Clint and Natasha backward.

Steve charged up to an armor Tony had never seen before and smashed it with all his super-human strength. The armor twitched from the impact – then retaliated with the speed of a machine, seizing the shield and throwing it and its owner through the air, following the motion and charging up the main RT for a blast that might well incinerate Steve where he lay.

The super-soldier must have picked up the sound because he curled up and brought his shield between himself and the blast, but it would not be enough. Tony had done the math, a long time ago, and although he prayed he would never have to use it…

Tony had never run so fast in his life, to throw himself between the armor and Captain America, arms spread for maximum effect. His eyes checked the armor madly, to take in every detail from the alien surface design to the set of a dozen miniaturized arc reactors embedded in the armor's chest. The stealth mode must drain more energy than usual so J.A.R.V.I.S. had increased the power output. The semi-transparent appearance of the suit was probably from lack of proper equipment and building materials, although there was a chance that all this was a design for optimal efficiency.

"Power down," he ordered.

The chest RT didn't fire although its charge remained, hurting his eyes.

Steve shifted behind him, probably getting into a better position.

"Power down," Tony ordered again.

_"Sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. said through his earpiece, _"there is a slight… glitch."_

On the best of days Tony didn't like it when his AI said that and now he tensed up, eyes still on the armor, aware that it was regarding him. However, the isolated part of J.A.R.V.I.S. had done all this in order to protect him after coming back to the world at a time where Tony had lost his home and other suits. There was no way this armor would hurt him; it had been built to _protect_ him and it had attacked the others with that designation.

"Get rid of the glitch and take over," Tony ordered.

_"Sir, while I see how all this is very inconvenient for you… the resident AI is correct."_

Tony had to focus on breathing in and out for the next few seconds. "J.A.R.V.I.S., just focus on what I told you to do." He was aware of the implications in his AI's words – could not stop repeating the words over and over in his head.

_'The resident AI is correct.'_

He had battled a lot of demons in his past, most of them not so long ago, but this wasn't one of them. This should not, in any scenario, have become one of them.

_"I am aware of the conflict and the moral obligations towards the rest of the human race, but my protocols are very straightforward when it comes to this,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. noted. The AI sounded a little stressed, reminding Tony of those few hectic moments while AIM choppers fired upon his home and he waited for Pepper to get to safety. J.A.R.V.I.S. had been afraid then, even though Tony had never truly introduced such a destructive human emotion to the AI's program.

J.A.R.V.I.S. had almost failed to protect him that day, coming through at the last moment as Tony lay at the bottom of the sea beneath tons of concrete from the remnants of his home.

"This isn't the time or the place to fix any of that," Tony murmured out loud. "J.A.R.V.I.S., begin immediate extraction of your active files from these premises. Shut down and revert to the last save point," he ordered.

_"Sir –"_

"Now!" Tony barked then lowered his arms and took a step towards the armor that still stood in front of him, ready to fire. He knew what he had to do – what he had tried to achieve with the Clean Slate Protocol in the first place.

He had just missed a spot.

"You want to protect me?" Tony asked.

The armor made a small motion with its helmet, like a nod.

"Open up," he encouraged it. "Let me inside."

"Stark?" Clint called from the side. "What are you doing?!" He sounded like he had swallowed a mouthful of gravel – or had been knocked down way too hard.

"Fixing this," Tony replied to no one in particular. The armor turned around in front of him and its backside began to open one small piece at a time, revealing the hollow space inside. Tony's chest clenched for an entirely different reason and he looked briefly over his shoulder at Steve. "Once I'm inside, back away," he told him.

Steve looked less enthusiastic to give him the benefit of the doubt now, but Tony didn't wait for his approval or agreement: he stepped forward and into the armor, feeling it instantly beginning to close around him, leaving him in a too-snug embrace.

_"Sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. started, the HUD already live in front of him. _"I am relieved –"_

"Has your updated version left the building?" Tony asked, his eyes checking out the readings and the new symbols. Most of them were covered by alarms and he supposed one of the other Avengers had managed to break the surface charge transmitter that controlled the invisibility frequency. He made a bet it had been Clint with one of his arrows but this wasn't the time to dwell on that.

_"Yes, sir,"_ the resident AI replied. _"As per your orders, my other version has withdrawn."_

"Good," Tony sighed. His pulse was picking up, his skin hotter, anticipation making him feel sick. "Lock down the armor, all safety functions on. No one will get this off me, okay?"

_"Of course, sir."_

The pressure didn't increase, exactly, but Tony wondered if this was how magicians felt when they prepared for another miracle escape trick. Those were rigged tricks, however, whereas Tony's tools of the trade were real and would make him bleed if he failed…

_"Lockdown complete,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. announced.

"Good boy," Tony whispered then focused again. He hated this part but he could not waste more time trying to talk circles around the rogue portion of his AI while there was a functional armor trying to eliminate a threat that happened to be his team. Much as Tony didn't get along with them sometimes, he didn't want them getting hurt, either.

_"Sir, I am reading an alarming spike in your body temperature,"_ the AI said a moment later, showing an image on the HUD. _"Are you all right?"_

"I'm fine," Tony said breathlessly, most of his focus narrowing down on the very delicate biological process he was pushing his body through. "It's just that… a few lines got crossed and unless I make this right, it won't end well. I'm sorry it has to come to this. I can't believe you cracked the visibility problem and actually got the suit to work on the first try. It's not fair I'm going to lose that entire arch of innovations just because I got so caught up in everything that was going on…"

_"I do not understand,"_ the AI confessed. More alarms appeared on the HUD. _"Your core temperature is still rising. I think there is something wrong with the interior scanners. I should calibrate them, to get an accurate reading."_

"There's nothing wrong with the suit," Tony soothed, jaw clenching, voice breaking a little. His eyes remained glued on the HUD, grounding himself, reminding himself of where he was. From the corner of his eye he could see Steve ushering Clint and Natasha away from the suit, doubt glaringly obvious on all their faces. They had to be considering the possibility that Tony had been behind all this and Tony couldn't blame them.

Heat began to radiate off the inner surfaces of the suit, mounting up.

The single bead of sweat that traveled down Tony's forehead was not a response to the heat but the pure effort to concentrate.

_"Sir, the suit is unable to cope with these heat levels,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. warned.

"I know," Tony swallowed and closed his eyes. "When you failed to reconnect with the rest of your programming, you remained oblivious to a small fact… I'm a changed man, altered from the inside out." He felt the rush of heat rising to burn on his skin. "It's called Extremis and you don't know I have it."

Alarms beeped all around him, drowning out all other sounds – then became distorted as Tony's rising body heat destroyed the suit from the inside out, frying its circuits and shutting it down quickly and effectively.

The HUD flickered and blacked out. Tony smelled something burning and felt the weight of the suit suddenly rest on his body, threatening to topple him to the ground.

Carefully moving his hands, Tony dug into the armor, slowly prying it from his body. Locked down as it was, he had to use brute force to do it, but he knew every weak joint to exploit, every manual locking mechanism to manipulate, and the receding heat from his body melted through the rest. Once he finally got his head free of the helmet, the other Avengers crept closer again.

"What just happened?" Clint asked, frowning. "Is the armor smoking?"

"Yeah, probably," Tony grunted and pried open the metal around his right thigh, then the left.

"Are you… naked, suddenly?"

Tony flashed an annoyed look at the archer, shutting him up.

"Extremis," Steve guessed, voice low.

Tony supposed it was possible his skin was still glowing – or his eyes, at least. He felt hot but not in a way that bothered him, seeing as he was in control of it. He resumed releasing himself from the clutches of the armor, thankful that the others – mainly Steve – didn't step in to offer their help; he needed this moment to ground himself, both from the rush of Extremis and the fact that he had just destroyed the most advanced piece of tech he had ever come across. _His_ tech.

It burned him to have come so close and then find himself here, prying himself free of dead pieces of metal and pretending this had been the only way out – that this had been the right thing to do.

"Get him some clothes," Natasha murmured from his side. Tony didn't care about such a trivial thing but Clint took the chance to move out and jogged back towards the Quinjet.

Yanking the boots from his feet, Tony stepped away from the scattered ring of metal and pried his hands out of the gauntlets, letting them fall down to join the rest. A steadying breath made him feel almost on the verge of collapse, seconds drawing out, his awareness stuck in a loop. Then the heat was gone and he was standing there, naked, a few smears of dust all that was left of his burnt clothes.

Clint was by his side then, offering him a pair of dark sweatpants and a sweater, all bearing resemblance to the S.H.I.E.L.D. gear he had grown familiar with.

Tony accepted the clothes nonetheless, pulling them on, then stepped away from the clutter at his feet. He felt a bit rattled still, like coming down from an extremely high fever. It was possible he was dehydrated.

"Is it over?" Steve asked.

"Not quite," Tony replied absently then looked out towards the broken door of the facility's entrance. A clean slate… "There's something I've got to do," he said out loud and started towards the door, barefoot since Clint either hadn't found shoes or hadn't thought to bring him any. "Stay here," he told the others.

"What are you going to do?" Natasha asked.

He just gave her a look, not wanting to say it out loud. Saying it would make it real and right now all he needed to do was walk inside and do what he needed to do. He didn't need to _think_ about it.

The others didn't follow him in, regardless of his lack of explanation. Tony was glad, considering that he needed to give the Avengers more credit in the future.

_"Sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up as soon as he was within the reach of the indoor speakers. _"The suit is…"_

"I know," Tony said, walking over to the main console, plucking his phone free of it.

_"Did it not perform to your expectations?"_ the AI asked and Tony froze, staring blindly at the various small screens, recognizing the plaintive note in J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice. Not unlike his own, many years ago…

"The armor was fine," Tony replied finally, forcing himself to move on: he crouched down, yanked free a few panels and disconnected various cables. "I didn't get to see it in action, for real, but… You did good, J," he finished, standing up again and hitting a few keys, opening an incognito window that was beyond the AI's control and starting to type commands into it.

_"Thank you, sir."_ The AI paused, as if doubting the compliment – or trying to see what Tony was doing. _"Sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. started again after a moment, _"I believe those commands will force the facility's functions into a catastrophic system failure. It is ill-advised to continue what you are doing."_

Tony just nodded absently and kept writing, command after command. There was no self-destruct button anywhere because those were utterly fictional and tacky at best; what he required was a systematic overloading of certain machines while jamming the others – most important of all being the lock-down protocol of all of J.A.R.V.I.S.'s functions.

He hadn't imagined how each new line of code could be physically painful, making him feel like he was going to overheat all over again, but he kept his fingers moving, dismissing any alerts J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to display, knowing this was beyond the AI's control – and simultaneously knowing that J.A.R.V.I.S. knew it, too.

_"Sir, please,"_ the AI spoke up as Tony finalized the string of commands and let his right hand hover over the enter key. _"Whatever I have done… I will do better,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. promised. The detached tone was gone, replaced by genuine supplication.

"I know," Tony replied, swallowing with difficulty. His eyes burned. "This wasn't your fault, you know. I… didn't pay attention. I didn't take this into account." He hadn't thought J.A.R.V.I.S.'s consciousness could get split up and continue to evolve separately; he hadn't considered what would happen when the split, partial program stumbled upon the aftermath of the battle with AIM and how J.A.R.V.I.S.'s logic would handle it.

He had forgotten that his AI's predominant traits all spun from the one core command, entered so many years ago – before he ever entered the cave and became Iron Man: J.A.R.V.I.S. would always protect him, first and foremost, even when it was subtle and obstructed by Tony's own commands.

_"Sir…"_

Ungoverned, his AI had developed the perfect weapon to rid the world of Tony's enemies and had he not come here today, they might have been chasing a ghost for the foreseeable future.

"It's time for you to go to sleep," Tony said, fingers jerking down towards the key but hesitating at the last moment.

_"Will I awaken again?"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. asked. _"Will you fix whatever went wrong?"_

Part of Tony guessed that J.A.R.V.I.S. knew only one version of his program could exist – and it was not the one contained within this facility. In that context the execution of the commands Tony had written up shouldn't have been hard. J.A.R.V.I.S. would still be there when he got home, ready to reboot, and all this would be in the past – burned into Tony's memory.

"You know I can't do that, J," Tony finally said. "You went too far in the wrong direction and while everyone else will regard this as a string of unfortunate events, I'll always live with the fact that I let you down. That I couldn't save all of you even when you protected me, time and time again. I'm so sorry, J."

_"Sir –"_

Tony's finger fell on the enter key and the screen started to flicker with window after window of processes, working towards a hazardous point where it would all boil over and fry the facility's computers just as effectively as if Tony had brought in an EMP and fired it.

As the lights flickered around him and the systems began to crash, Tony cast one more look around and turned away, walking back up the long hallway until he reached the broken doorway and the three people waiting for him there.

"Everything in order?" Steve asked.

Tony nodded, not meeting his eyes.

"Should we…"

Tony walked past him towards the Quinjet, stopping only to collect a few key pieces of the destroyed armor, knowing he couldn't just leave it lying around. The broken helmet seemed to stare at him with its lifeless eyes, accusing, and Tony shuffled to the Quinjet, sitting down with the helmet in his lap.

The others followed more slowly, having stopped to pick up the rest of the armor. Tony appreciated the gesture.

As Clint started the engines, Tony tuned out the murmured conversation taking place in the cockpit, fingers holding tightly only the helmet in his lap, a cool reminder of the conclusion to the manhunt for the deadly culprit.

* * *

They were all gathered in Tony's workshop at SI's Long Beach headquarters; Pepper's office wasn't large enough to hold all of them comfortably and Tony had been nigh impossible to force out of his shop.

From experience, Pepper knew something horrible had happened in Caliente. However, when Steve, Natasha and Clint told their side of the story it didn't sound like more than a rogue suit that had needed destroying. While Tony would surely lament the lost technology in it, none of that warranted the low mood he was in, quietly sitting in front of a computer and watching a progress bar as J.A.R.V.I.S. recovered from whatever Tony had made the AI do.

"So it was a suit, after all," Maria Hill noted, giving Tony a look. "One that you designed."

"Kind of," Tony replied distractedly.

"Did you also _kind of_ send it out to kill people on unsanctioned missions?" she pressed.

"Enough," Fury murmured before Pepper could intervene. "The threat's been dealt with and there will be no more attacks. Right, Stark?"

"Right," came another distracted response.

"I'm expecting a full report on how this happened – and how you're going to prevent it from ever happening again," the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. went on. While it was not an unreasonable request, Pepper felt her ire rising slightly.

Tony, by the looks of it, felt the same way, turning his eyes from the screen he had been watching and giving Fury one of his most baleful glares. "I realize this is a trying time for you, what with your failure to stop the attacks and track down their cause, but I don't think you need to rub this in my face."

"I wasn't –"

"You don't understand why any of this happened!" Tony snapped, looking like his melancholy was coming to a sudden and fiery end. To prevent that from becoming an actual thing, Pepper walked over and stood behind Tony, resting her hands on his tense shoulders. He deflated a little at her touch but not as much as she had hoped.

Fury's next words didn't help: "That's why I'm expecting a detailed report of the incident."

"Well, you can expect it for a while longer – and somewhere else," Tony retorted, his body already turning back towards the screen to follow its progress.

"Tony," Pepper spoke up, as softly as she could, carding the fingers of her right hand up his neck and into his hair. "What really happened? I can tell you're upset."

Tony didn't deny it which was the first sign that something had unsettled him greatly. His eyes remained glued to the screen as his jaw flexed, then he finally spoke up: "When AIM attacked the house, a part of J.A.R.V.I.S. got isolated in the facility in Caliente. Unable to connect to the network, that part of him continued to work on the project I had set him on, unknowing of all else that was going on. By the time things had calmed down, the partial intelligence attempted to rejoin the rest of the network – only to realize it could no longer do it."

"How could that result in what we have just seen?" Maria Hill asked.

Tony's eyes seemed a bit brighter but it could have been just a trick of the light. "My AI grows every day – like any living organism. It is subtle and unnoticeable most times but each experience and exchange makes a difference. After the attack, the rest of J.A.R.V.I.S. stayed with me, gaining that experience and learning from it – as well as the entire outcome that followed." At this point Tony looked up at Pepper as if apologizing all over again for the things she had been forced through.

Pepper squeezed his shoulders and gave him a small smile to show that she was over it and held no hidden grudge – even though she had been understandably upset at the time, having been forced to accept Extremis into her body and almost died.

"So the J.A.R.V.I.S. in the facility was like a different version?" Clint guessed. "A homicidal –"

"No," Tony snapped, steel back in his voice. "The fact is that at any given time, there are a hundred people who want to kill me. Probably more. I may take it in stride and accept it as an eventual outcome of being who I am, but J.A.R.V.I.S.'s programming was originally based on a few very simple guidelines."

"To protect you," Happy nodded along; he didn't actually need to be here but he had insisted on attending the meeting and no one had managed to make him leave.

"So, with a newly designed suit under its control, your AI decided to get the job done and eliminate the threats before they had a chance at coming after you," Steve guessed.

"Pretty much," Tony nodded. "These were just trial runs, to see how the suit performed."

"Please tell me you shut your AI down," Fury spoke up. "That kind of variant is a threat to global security, no matter how small and well-meaning the infractions at first."

That statement gained the director another baleful look from Tony. Pepper guessed there would have to be a lot of sweet-talking before Tony would attend another S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting unless the world was coming to an end and the Avengers were needed to keep the peace. "That _variant_ has been removed from the equation, yes," Tony said icily. "Destroyed and deleted. As soon as I'm done here I'll make sure the facility is mopped clean and sealed for good."

Fury nodded and straightened. "I think we're done here." With that he strode out of the room, Maria Hill following him. Clint and Natasha did the same, soon followed by Steve who tried to meet Tony's eyes for a few unsuccessful seconds. Pepper met his gaze instead, giving him a small nod of thanks, knowing he had given Tony his support when he needed it the most.

"Make sure they leave," Pepper told Happy after the others had left the workshop.

"Sure thing," Happy nodded and followed them out, closing the door behind him. The sound was almost harsh, as if some kind of buffer was missing, and slowly the bots rolled out from wherever they had been hiding during the meeting. Both of them settled beside Tony, letting out questioning beeps. Dummy even peered at the screen, snapping his claws.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked now that they were alone.

"I'll be fine," Tony promised. "I just need to get J.A.R.V.I.S. back up and running…"

The progress bar kept slowly nearing completion and Pepper stayed where she was, carefully caressing Tony's scalp, knowing it would calm him. She didn't pretend to understand everything she had just been told; what had sounded like the deletion of a harmful program had actually been the termination of one part of J.A.R.V.I.S. and with that in mind Pepper comprehended Tony's emotional turmoil a little better.

"As much as I hate that this happened…" Tony said slowly, "it felt kind of good, for a change, to have someone in my corner, totally uncompromising…"

Dummy and You chorused that statement with chirps of their own.

"I mean, everyone always tells me they've got my back and that I don't need to do this alone," he went on. "You and Rhodey, Happy and even S.H.I.E.L.D. The Avengers," he added almost belatedly, but Pepper knew he just had difficulty accepting that he could rely on those people. "All of them – all of you – are important and I appreciate it, but J.A.R.V.I.S. is…"

"He's different," Pepper stated, knowing what he meant. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes," Tony said with a sound of finality. "He'll be fine. I'll make sure of that."

They all waited in silence as the progress bar finished its journey – then finally hit 100% and it felt like the entire workshop came to life alongside it even though nothing happened at first.

_"Sir,"_ the familiar English voice spoke up an instant later and Tony closed his eyes, his next breaths stuttering a little. Pepper knew he was very close to crying.

"Run a self-diagnosis, make sure everything's… fine…" Tony finished.

_"I shall, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. _"At first glance everything seems to be running smoothly; return to the last created save point has been successful."_ There was a pause and Pepper wondered if the AI was already doing that diagnostic run. _"How did it go, sir?"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. asked out of the blue.

Tony blinked his eyes open, worrying his lower lip for a second. "How did what go?" he asked.

_"The trip to the facility near Caliente. You were preparing to…"_

Tony stiffened again, slightly.

Pepper wondered if there was anything she could do or say to make it easier for either of them.

_"I am sorry, sir,"_ J.A.R.V.I.S. said finally. _"Considering the fact that I have just recovered from being reverted to a save point you created while en-route to Caliente, I presume my systems must have become compromised during the apprehension of whoever was responsible for the attacks."_

"A good assumption, J," Tony nodded, sniffling. "Let's just get back to work, okay? And make sure there are no bugs remaining."

_"Of course, sir."_

Tony nodded absently then slid something out of the pocket of his borrowed pants: his phone. He observed it like it was radioactive, turning it around in his hands over and over. Finally he looked at the bots and held it out for Dummy to take. "Put that in the safe," he ordered.

"Is there something on the phone that you don't want anyone to find out about?" Pepper asked as she watched the bot take the phone, carefully clutching onto it, then move away to the far wall where she could no longer see it.

"Maybe," Tony confessed. "I'm not… I don't think I'm in the right state of mind to take a look at it right now, in case…" He cleared his throat and straightened on his seat, tapping a few digital commands onto his keyboard, bringing up an impossibly complex window that had to be J.A.R.V.I.S.'s progress at the self-diagnosis.

Pepper squeezed his shoulders again and stepped back, knowing she had almost overstayed her welcome. Before she exited the workshop she cast one more look at Tony, noting that he looked almost like himself again.

Almost.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's note:** The "thing in Nevada" mentioned at the beginning of the story is a reference to another story in this series, "The Fervid Defense Protocol".


End file.
